I'm alive

It occurred to me that, since I left Lubbock a week ago, I have had zero contact with anyone from Lubbock. This is not intentional. I have also had minimal contact with most of the people I know in Utah, as well as my family in California. Again, not intentional. Here's how my week went:

Sunday: The day after graduation, I left Lubbock at about 7:30 a.m. with my parents and Melanee. We were extremely pleased to make it all the way to Moab (Utah) by nightfall. We were also pleased that we were able to stay in a pretty nice hotel. However, if you are traveling to Moab any time soon, I would advise you to plan ahead, as hotels fill up fast. We had to try several before we found one with vacancies.

Monday: We were out of the hotel by about 8 a.m., and back on the road, which put us in Pleasant Grove, where my new home is, by 11:45 a.m. My brother-in-law showed up with my niece and nephew, who were very excited to see their mom, and, to a lesser extent, pleased to see me and their grandparents. The movers were supposed to come at 1 to unload my truck, but did not show up until about 3:30. However, they worked quickly, and we were able to get to Salt Lake in time to have dinner at Sweet Tomatoes before we had to drop my dad off at the airport.

Moving Tips for today:

• It is worth the price to have professional movers get your stuff up three flights of stairs.
• I like to throw away things the following things when I leave an apartment and replace them when I get to the new place: toilet brush, shower curtain, garbage can, broom, dustpan. However, replacing them has to be a fairly high priority when I get to a new place.

Tuesday: I spent most of the day unpacking my stuff and deciding some of it should have been left in a dumpster in Lubbock. This included my bed, which had an unfortunate incident on Monday night, and must be replaced now.

Moving Tips for today:

• If it is junk, and you know it is junk, you are not doing it any favors by moving it to a new location before throwing it away.

Wednesday: I decided that the best time to start replacing things was before I had to return my rental truck (Thursday morning). So, after dinner, my mom and I raced to IKEA, where I bought two chests of drawers, a futon, and an entertainment center. I am proud to say that, before we returned the truck the next morning, my mom and I were able to get 7 heavy boxes of stuff up three flights of stairs.

Moving tips for today:

• see moving tips from Monday.
• Have some tools handy for putting together furniture. Essentials include a screwdriver (Phillips and flathead) and a hammer. Allan wrenches are also helpful, but, often, the manufacturer includes them with the hardware.

Thursday: Spent most of the day putting together furniture. Discovered that my entertainment center is too shallow for my TV, which means I must buy a new TV. Sigh.

Moving tip for today:

• Decide in advance of purchasing an entertainment center whether or not you are willing to upgrade your TV.

Friday: Sammie spent the night at my house. This was a bold move, and one I do not know if I will be repeating anytime soon. It went something like this:

8:45 p.m.-Sammie's mother leaves with her brother.

9:00 p.m.-Sammie and I are ready for bed. We lay down, and, after less than 30 seconds, she announces that she is not sleepy, and that she is scared of the shadows in the room. I suggest we sleep in the living room.

9:15 p.m.-Sammie announces she still cannot sleep, and I suggest we start a movie, believing that she, like me, will get sleepy watching a children's movie and conk out after about 10 minutes. Sammie informs me that this is exactly what she wanted to do, she just didn't know it until I suggested it. We select Elmo in Grouchland.

9:45 p.m.-Sammie gets scared of something in the movie, presumably Mandy Patinkin as the villain, with obnoxiously bushy eyebrows. She pulls her blanket over her head until the movie is no longer scary. She repeats this several times.

11:00 p.m.-The movie ends and Sammie is still wide awake. However, she is convinced that if she eats something, she will get sleepy. She suggests a bowl of Reese's Puffs she has seen in my pantry.

11:15 p.m.-After eating our cereal and re-brushing our teeth, we get into bed again. Sammie insists that, once again, she is not sleepy. I tell her she does not have to sleep, but she does have to lay still for ten minutes with her eyes closed without talking, and that if she can do that and she is still not sleepy, we will do something else. She agrees.

11:15:15 p.m.-Sammie insists that she cannot lay down or close her eyes, and that the only thing she can do is play. In desperation, I explain to her that I am sleepy, and that I am going to sleep.

11:16 p.m.-Sammie is asleep and snoring softly. Soon, she spreads out on the bed, forcing me into a tiny corner. I eventually migrate to the couch.

Saturday

6:30 a.m.-I show up at Melanee's house for a long run, and explain the story to her. She laughs, calls me a chump, and says she hopes Sammie and I have sleepovers out of our systems for awhile.

Moving tip for today:

• If you follow up a sleepless night with your niece with a nine-mile run with her mother, it is perfectly acceptable to postpone all moving activities to take a nap on your niece's mother's couch.

Sunday: We have dinner together as a family, and, before leaving for home, Sammie asks me if she can spend the night. I tell her she has to sleep many more nights at her house before she can spend another one at my house. And Kevin is not allowed to even think about spending the night until he is potty-trained.